Education in the Second Polish Republic
Education in the Second Polish Republic
After Poland regained independence in 1918, its education system was in disarray because the country had been partitioned for over a century by Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Russia.
In 1920 there was an attempt to create a unified education system, but the major reform came later.
The Jędrzejewicz reform, named after Janusz Jędrzejewicz, was approved by the Sejm on March 11, 1932. It introduced compulsory education and created a single system with standardized diplomas for different schools at their levels. It also increased state involvement in education, which critics saw as limiting academic freedom.
On March 15, 1933 the reform was extended to higher education, bringing universities and other higher education institutions under the same framework.
The reform remained the basis of education in Poland until 1948, when the Communist system replaced it in the Polish People’s Republic.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 11:07 (CET).